Los Angeles Aqueduct

Last updated
Los Angeles Aqueduct
Second Los Angeles Aqueduct Cascades, Sylmar.jpg
The Second Los Angeles Aqueduct Cascades, Sylmar
Coordinates 36°58′32″N118°12′37″W / 36.9756°N 118.2103°W / 36.9756; -118.2103
BeginsFirst Aqueduct
Owens River, Inyo County
36°58′32″N118°12′38″W / 36.975678°N 118.210541°W / 36.975678; -118.210541
Second Aqueduct
Haiwee Reservoir, Inyo County
36°10′57″N117°57′30″W / 36.182600°N 117.958470°W / 36.182600; -117.958470
Mono Extension
Upper Lee Vining Creek, Mono County
37°56′10″N119°08′04″W / 37.936151°N 119.134426°W / 37.936151; -119.134426
EndsFirst &Second Aqueduct
Upper Van Norman Lake (Los Angeles Reservoir), Granada Hills, Los Angeles
34°18′46″N118°29′35″W / 34.312860°N 118.492988°W / 34.312860; -118.492988
Mono Extension
Owens River, Mono County
37°45′25″N118°53′27″W / 37.756910°N 118.890911°W / 37.756910; -118.890911
Official nameLos Angeles Aqueduct
Second Los Angeles Aqueduct
Mono Extension
Maintained by Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
Characteristics
Total length419 mi (674 km)
Diameter12 ft (3.7 m)
First section length233 mi (375 km)
Second section length137 mi (220 km)
CapacityFirst Aqueduct
422 cu ft/s (11.9 m3/s)
Second Aqueduct
290 cu ft/s (8.2 m3/s)
History
Construction startFirst Aqueduct
October 1908
Second Aqueduct
September 1965
OpenedFirst Aqueduct
November 1913
Second Aqueduct
June 1970
Location
Los Angeles Aqueduct
References
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

The Los Angeles Aqueduct system, comprising the Los Angeles Aqueduct (Owens Valley aqueduct) and the Second Los Angeles Aqueduct, is a water conveyance system, built and operated by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. [6] The Owens Valley aqueduct was designed and built by the city's water department, at the time named The Bureau of Los Angeles Aqueduct, under the supervision of the department's Chief Engineer William Mulholland. [7] The system delivers water from the Owens River in the eastern Sierra Nevada mountains to Los Angeles.

Contents

The aqueduct's construction was controversial from the start, as water diversions to Los Angeles eliminated the Owens Valley as a viable farming community. [8] Clauses in the city's charter originally stated that the city could not sell or provide surplus water to any area outside the city, forcing adjacent communities to annex themselves into Los Angeles. [9]

The aqueduct's infrastructure also included the completion of the St. Francis Dam in 1926 to provide storage in case of disruption to the system. [10] The dam's collapse two years later killed at least 431 people, halted the rapid pace of annexation, and eventually led to the formation of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California to build and operate the Colorado River Aqueduct to bring water from the Colorado River to Los Angeles County. [9] [11]

The continued operation of the Los Angeles Aqueduct has led to public debate, legislation, and court battles over its environmental impacts on Mono Lake and other ecosystems. [12]

First Los Angeles Aqueduct

Construction

The aqueduct project began in 1905 when the voters of Los Angeles approved a US$1.5 million bond for the 'purchase of lands and water and the inauguration of work on the aqueduct'. On June 12, 1907, a second bond was passed with a budget of US$24.5 million to fund construction. [13] [14]

Construction began in 1908 and was divided into eleven divisions. The city acquired three limestone quarries, two Tufa quarries and it constructed and operated a cement plant in Monolith, California, which could produce 1,200 barrels of Portland cement per day. Regrinding mills were also built and operated by the city at the tufa quarries. To move 14 million ton-miles of freight, the city contracted with Southern Pacific to build a 118 mile long rail system from the Monolith mills to Olancha.

The number of men who were on the payroll the first year was 2,629 and this number peaked at 6,060 in May 1909. In 1910, employment dropped to 1,150 due to financial reasons but rebounded later in the year. In 1911 and 1912, employment ranged from 2,800 to 3,800 workers. The number of laborers working on the aqueduct at its peak was 3,900. [15] [16] [17] [18] In 1913, the City of Los Angeles completed construction of the first Los Angeles Aqueduct.

Route

The aqueduct as originally constructed consisted of six storage reservoirs and 215 mi (346 km) of conduit. Beginning 3.5 mi (5.6 km) north of Blackrock (Inyo County), the aqueduct diverts the Owens River into an unlined canal to begin its 233 mi (375 km) journey south to the Lower San Fernando Reservoir. [19] This reservoir was later renamed the Lower Van Norman Reservoir.

The original project consisted of 24 mi (39 km) of open unlined canal, 37 mi (60 km) of lined open canal, 97 mi (156 km) of covered concrete conduit, 43 mi (69 km) of concrete tunnels, 12.00 mi (19.31 km) steel siphons, 120 mi (190 km) of railroad track, two hydroelectric plants, three cement plants, 170 mi (270 km) of power lines, 240 mi (390 km) of telephone line, 500 mi (800 km) of roads [20] and was later expanded with the construction of the Mono Extension and the Second Los Angeles Aqueduct. [21]

The aqueduct uses gravity alone to move the water and also uses the water to generate electricity, which makes it cost-efficient to operate. [22]

Typical construction view of lined canal and covered concrete conduit. Cross Sections of Lined and Concrete Conduit.png
Typical construction view of lined canal and covered concrete conduit.

Reactions by impacted communities

The construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct effectively eliminated the Owens Valley as a viable farming community and eventually devastated the Owens Lake ecosystem. [23] A group labeled the "San Fernando Syndicate" – including Fred Eaton, Mulholland, Harrison Otis (the publisher of The Los Angeles Times), Henry Huntington (an executive of the Pacific Electric Railway), and other wealthy individuals – were a group of investors who bought land in the San Fernando Valley allegedly based on inside knowledge that the Los Angeles aqueduct would soon irrigate it and encourage development. [23] Although there is disagreement over the actions of the "syndicate" as to whether they were a "diabolical" cabal or only a group that united the Los Angeles business community behind supporting the aqueduct, [24] [25] Eaton, Mulholland and others connected with the project have long been accused of using deceptive tactics and underhanded methods to obtain water rights and block the Bureau of Reclamation from building water infrastructure for the residents in Owens Valley, and creating a false sense of urgency around the completion of the aqueduct for Los Angeles residents. [26] By the 1920s, the aggressive pursuit of water rights and the diversion of the Owens River precipitated the outbreak of violence known as the California water wars. Farmers in Owens Valley, following a series of unmet deadlines from LADWP, attacked infrastructure, dynamiting the aqueduct numerous times, and opened sluice gates to divert the flow of water back into Owens Lake. The lake has never been refilled, and is now maintained with a minimum level of surface water to prevent the introduction of dangerous, toxic lake-floor dust into the local community. [27]

St. Francis Dam failure

A picture of the St. Francis Dam, one year prior to its collapse. The St. Francis Dam.jpg
A picture of the St. Francis Dam, one year prior to its collapse.

In 1917, The Bureau of Los Angeles Aqueduct sought to build a holding reservoir to regulate flow and provide hydroelectric power and storage in case of disruption to the aqueduct system. The initial site chosen was in Long Valley along the Owens River, but Eaton, who had bought up much of the valley in anticipation of the need for a reservoir, refused to sell the land at the price offered by Los Angeles. [10] Mulholland then made the decision to move the reservoir to San Francisquito Canyon above what is now Santa Clarita, California. The resulting St. Francis Dam was completed in 1926 and created a reservoir capacity of 38,000 acre-feet (47,000,000 m3). On March 12, 1928, the dam catastrophically failed, sending a 100-foot high (30 m) wall of water down the canyon, ultimately reaching the Pacific Ocean near Ventura and Oxnard, and killing at least 431 people. The resulting investigation and trial led to the retirement of William Mulholland as the head of the Los Angeles Bureau of Water Works and Supply in 1929. The dam failure is the worst man-made flood disaster in the US in the 20th century and the second largest single-event loss of life in California history after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

Mono Basin Extension

In an effort to find more water, the city of Los Angeles reached farther north. In 1930, Los Angeles voters passed a third US$38.8 million bond to buy land in the Mono Basin and fund the Mono Basin extension. [28] The 105 mi (169 km) extension diverted flows from Rush Creek, Lee Vining Creek, Walker Creek, and Parker Creek that would have flowed into Mono Lake. The construction of the Mono extension consisted of an intake at Lee Vining Creek, the Lee Vining conduit to the Grant Reservoir on Rush Creek, which would have a capacity of 48,000 acre⋅ft (59,000,000 m3), the 12.7 mi (20.4 km) Mono Craters Tunnel to the Owens River, and a second reservoir, later named Crowley Lake with a capacity of 183,465 acre⋅ft (226,301,000 m3) in Long Valley at the head of the Owens River Gorge. [29]

Completed in 1940, diversions began in 1941. The Mono Extension has a design capacity of 400 cu ft/s (11,000 L/s) of flow to the aqueduct. [30] However, the flow was limited to 123 cu ft/s (3,500 L/s) due to the limited downstream capacity of the Los Angeles Aqueduct. Full appropriation of the water could not be met until the second aqueduct was completed in 1970. [29]

The Mono Extension's impact on Mono Basin and litigation

From 1940 to 1970, water exports through the Mono Extension averaged 57,067 acre-feet (70 million cubic meters ) per year and peaked at 135,000 acre⋅ft (167 million m3) in 1974. Export licenses granted by the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) in 1974 increased exports to 167,000 acre⋅ft (206 million m3) per year. [29] These export levels severely impacted the region's fish habitat, lake level, and air quality, which led to a series of lawsuits. [12] The results of the litigation culminated with a SWRCB decision to restore fishery protection (stream) flows to specified minimums, and raise Mono Lake to 6,391 feet (1,948 m) above sea level. The agreement limited further exports from the Mono Basin to 10,000 acre⋅ft (12.3 million m3) per year. [31]

Second Los Angeles Aqueduct

Los Angeles Aqueduct System, 1971 Los Angeles Aqueduct Map.png
Los Angeles Aqueduct System, 1971

In 1956, the State Department of Water Resources reported that Los Angeles was exporting only 320,000 acre-feet (390 million cubic metres) of water of the 590,000 acre⋅ft (730 million m3) available in the Owens Valley and Mono Basin. Three years later, the State Water Rights Board warned Los Angeles that they could lose rights to the water they were permitted for but not appropriating. Faced with the possible loss of future water supply, Los Angeles began the five-year construction of the aqueduct in 1965 at a cost US$89 million. [5] Once the city received diversion permits, water exports jumped in 1970, adding 110,000 AF that year into the aqueduct system. By 1974, exports climbed to 450,000 acre⋅ft (560 million m3) per year. [29] Unlike the First Aqueduct which was built entirely by Public Works, the Second Los Angeles Aqueduct was primarily built on contract by various private construction firms including R.A. Wattson Co., Winston Bros., and the Griffith Co. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power managed the project and performed some finishing construction on the Mojave conduit and Jawbone & Dove Spring pipelines.

Route

The 137-mile-long (220 km) aqueduct was designed to flow 290 cu ft/s (8,200 L/s) and begins at the Merritt Diversion Structure at the junction of the North and South Haiwee Reservoirs, [4] south of Owens Lake, and runs roughly parallel to the first aqueduct. Water flows entirely by gravity from an elevation of 3,760 feet (1,150 m) at the Haiwee Reservoir through two power drops to an elevation of 1,200 ft (370 m) at the Upper Van Norman Reservoir. [32]

The Second Aqueduct was not built as a single contiguous conduit. For design and construction purposes the aqueduct was divided into Northern and Southern sections and the two are connected by the San Francisquito Tunnels, which are part of the First Aqueduct.

The Northern Section carries water starting at the North Haiwee Reservoir through the Haiwee Bypass passing around the South Haiwee Reservoir. The flow then continues 115 miles (185 km) south through a series of pressure pipelines and concrete conduits where it connects with the First Aqueduct at the North Portal of the Elizabeth Tunnel near the Fairmont Reservoir. [33]

The San Francisquito Tunnels (which include the Elizabeth Tunnel) have a flow capacity of 1,000 cu ft/s (28,000 L/s) [33] and are large enough to handle the flow of both aqueducts. Once the combined flow reaches the penstocks above Power Plant #2, water is diverted into the Southern Section of the second aqueduct through the Drinkwater Tunnel to the Drinkwater Reservoir.

An updated version of the concrete box construction used on the second aqueduct. Reinforced Concrete Box Conduit.png
An updated version of the concrete box construction used on the second aqueduct.

The last segment of pipe, known as the Saugus Pipeline, [34] carries water south past Bouquet Canyon, Soledad Canyon and Placerita Canyon in the city of Santa Clarita. From there it roughly parallels Sierra Highway before it enters Magazine Canyon near the Terminal structure and Cascades. Water from the Terminal structure can then flow to either the Cascade or penstock to the Foothill Power Plant and into the Upper Van Norman Reservoir.

In addition to the construction in the Northern and Southern sections, improvements were also made to the lined canal between the Alabama Gates and the North Haiwee Reservoir in the Northern Section that consisted of adding 24 in (610 mm) sidewalls to both sides of the canal and the raising of overcrossings. This work increased the capacity of the lined canal from 710 cu ft/s (20,000 L/s) to 900 cu ft/s (25,000 L/s) cfs. [35]

Second aqueduct's impact on the water system

The increased flows provided by the second aqueduct lasted only from 1971 through 1988. [36] In 1974 the environmental consequences of the higher exports were first being recognized in the Mono Basin and Owens Valley. This was followed by a series of court ordered restrictions imposed on water exports, which resulted in Los Angeles losing water. [29] In 2005, the Los Angeles Urban Water Management Report reported that 40–50% of the aqueduct's historical supply is now devoted to ecological resources in Mono and Inyo counties. [37] [38]

Influence on Los Angeles and the county

From 1909 to 1928, the city of Los Angeles grew from 61 square miles to 440 square miles. This was due largely to the aqueduct, and the city's charter which stated that the City of Los Angeles could not sell or provide surplus water to any area outside the city. [9] [39] [40] Outlying areas relied on wells and creeks for water and, as they dried up, the people in those areas realized that if they were going to be able to continue irrigating their farms and provide themselves domestic water, they would have to annex themselves to the City of Los Angeles. [9]

Growth was so rapid that it appeared as if the city of Los Angeles would eventually assume the size of the entire county. William Mulholland continued adding capacity to the aqueduct, building the St. Francis Dam that would impound water creating the San Francisquito Reservoir, filed for additional water from the Colorado River, and began sending engineers and miners to clear the heading at the San Jacinto Tunnel that he knew was key to the construction of the Colorado River Aqueduct. [41] [42]

The aqueduct's water provided developers with the resources to quickly develop the San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles through World War II. Mulholland's role in the vision and completion of the aqueduct and the growth of Los Angeles into a large metropolis is recognized with the William Mulholland Memorial Fountain, built in 1940 at Riverside Drive and Los Feliz Boulevard in Los Feliz. Mulholland Drive and Mulholland Dam are both named after him.

Many more cities and unincorporated areas would likely have annexed into the city of Los Angeles if the St. Francis Dam had not collapsed. The catastrophic failure of the St. Francis Dam in 1928 killed an estimated 431 people, [43] flooded parts of Santa Clarita, and devastated much of the Santa Clara River Valley in Ventura County. [9] [44]

The failure of the dam raised the question in a number of people's minds whether the city had engineering competence and capability to manage such a large project as the Colorado River Aqueduct despite the fact that they had built the Los Angeles Aqueduct. [9] After the collapse, the pace of annexation came to a rapid halt when eleven nearby cities including Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, Beverly Hills, San Marino, Santa Monica, Anaheim, Colton, Santa Ana, and San Bernardino decided to form the Metropolitan Water District with Los Angeles. [11] The city's growth following the formation of the MWD would be limited to 27.65 square miles. [44] [45]

California Historical Landmark – Cascades

The Cascades, which was completed on November 5, 1913, is located near the intersection of Foothill Boulevard and Balboa Boulevard, four miles northwest of San Fernando. It was designated as a California Historical Landmark on July 28, 1958. [48] [49]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California water wars</span> Conflict over water rights in California between 1902 and 2006

The California Water Wars were a series of political conflicts between the city of Los Angeles and farmers and ranchers in the Owens Valley of Eastern California over water rights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Francis Dam</span> Former dam in Los Angeles County, California, US

The St. Francis Dam, or the San Francisquito Dam, was a concrete gravity dam located in San Francisquito Canyon in northern Los Angeles County, California, United States, that was built between 1924 and 1926. The dam failed catastrophically in 1928, killing at least 431 people in the subsequent flood, in what is considered to have been one of the worst American civil engineering disasters of the 20th century and the third-greatest loss of life in California history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Mulholland</span> Engineer and builder of the Los Angeles Aqueduct (1855–1935)

William Mulholland was an Irish American self-taught civil engineer who was responsible for building the infrastructure to provide a water supply that allowed Los Angeles to grow into the largest city in California. As the head of a predecessor to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Mulholland designed and supervised the building of the Los Angeles Aqueduct, a 233-mile-long (375 km) system to move water from Owens Valley to the San Fernando Valley. The creation and operation of the aqueduct led to the disputes known as the California Water Wars. In March 1928, Mulholland's career came to an end when the St. Francis Dam failed just over 12 hours after he and his assistant gave it a safety inspection.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) is the largest municipal utility in the United States with 8,100 megawatts of electric generating capacity (2021–2022) and delivering an average of 435 million gallons of water per day to more than four million residents and local businesses in the City of Los Angeles and several adjacent cities and communities in southwestern Los Angeles County, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frederick Eaton</span> Developer of the Los Angeles Aqueduct project (1856–1934)

Frederick Eaton was a major individual in the transformation and expansion of Los Angeles in the latter 19th century through early 20th century, in California. Eaton was the political mastermind behind the early 20th century Los Angeles Aqueduct project, designed by William Mulholland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colorado River Aqueduct</span> Water conveyance in Southern California

The Colorado River Aqueduct, or CRA, is a 242 mi (389 km) water conveyance in Southern California in the United States, operated by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD). The aqueduct impounds water from the Colorado River at Lake Havasu on the California-Arizona border, west across the Mojave and Colorado deserts to the east side of the Santa Ana Mountains. It is one of the primary sources of drinking water for Southern California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Owens River</span> River in eastern California

The Owens River is a river in eastern California in the United States, approximately 183 miles (295 km) long. It drains into and through the Owens Valley, an arid basin between the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada and the western faces of the Inyo and White Mountains. The river terminates at the endorheic Owens Lake south of Lone Pine, at the bottom of a 2,600 sq mi (6,700 km2) watershed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crowley Lake</span> Reservoir in California, United States

Crowley Lake is a reservoir on the upper Owens River in southern Mono County, California, in the United States. Crowley Lake is 15 mi (24 km) south of Mammoth Lakes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prado Dam</span> Dam in Riverside County, California

Prado Dam is an earth-fill dry dam across the Santa Ana River at the Chino Hills near Corona, California in Riverside County with the resulting impounded water creating Prado Flood Control Basin reservoir. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built the dam in Lower Santa Ana River Canyon. Its primary purpose is flood control and it is the downstream element of the Santa Ana River's flood control system, which is a natural constriction about 30.5 mi (49.1 km) upstream from the ocean. The area upstream from the dam contains 2,255 sq mi (5,840 km2) of the watershed's 2,650 sq mi (6,900 km2). The dam's construction was authorized in 1936 and the flood of 1938 demonstrated its necessity. Construction was completed in 1941. Prado Flood Control Basin also provides water storage for groundwater recharge operations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diamond Valley Lake</span> Reservoir in Riverside County, California, United States

Diamond Valley Lake is a man-made off-stream reservoir located near Hemet, California, United States. It is one of the largest reservoirs in Southern California and one of the newest. It has a capacity of 800,000 acre-feet (990,000,000 m3). The lake nearly doubled the area's surface water storage capacity and provides additional water supplies for drought, peak summer, and emergency needs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State Water Project</span> Flood control, energy production, and water conveyance infrastructure

The California State Water Project, commonly known as the SWP, is a state water management project in the U.S. state of California under the supervision of the California Department of Water Resources. The SWP is one of the largest public water and power utilities in the world, providing drinking water for more than 27 million people and generating an average of 6,500 GWh of hydroelectricity annually. However, as it is the largest single consumer of power in the state itself, it has a net usage of 5,100 GWh.

The Central Utah Project is a US federal water project that was authorized for construction under the Colorado River Storage Project Act of April 11, 1956, as a participating project. In general, the Central Utah Project develops a portion of Utah's share of the yield of the Colorado River, as set out in the Colorado River Compact of 1922.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pardee Dam</span> Dam in Calaveras County, California

Pardee Dam is a 345-foot (105 m)-high structure across the Mokelumne River which marks the boundary between Amador and Calaveras Counties, located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada approximately 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Stockton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Owens River course</span> River in California, United States

The Owens River course includes headwaters points near the Upper San Joaquin Watershed, reservoirs and diversion points, and the river's mouth at Owens Lake. The river drains the Crowley Lake Watershed of 1,900 sq mi (4,900 km2) and the north portion of the Owens Lake Watershed of 1,340 sq mi (3,500 km2).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Van Arsdale</span> Reservoir in Mendocino County, California

Lake Van Arsdale, also known as Van Arsdale Reservoir, is a reservoir on the Eel River in California, part of the Potter Valley Project. Located in Mendocino County, 4 miles (6.4 km) north of the town of Potter Valley, California, the reservoir supplies water to users as far south as Marin County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Vining Creek</span> River in California, United States

Lee Vining Creek is a 16.2-mile-long (26.1 km) stream in Mono County, California, flowing into the endorheic basin of Mono Lake. It is the second largest stream flowing into the lake, after Rush Creek.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morris Dam</span> Dam in Los Angeles County, California

Morris Dam is a concrete gravity dam across the San Gabriel River in the U.S. state of California. It impounds Morris Reservoir, directly downstream of San Gabriel Dam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Tujunga Dam</span> Dam in Los Angeles County, California

Big Tujunga Dam is a 244-foot-high (74 m) concrete arch dam in Los Angeles County, California, spanning Big Tujunga Canyon northeast of Sunland, in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. Completed in 1931, it provides flood control and groundwater recharge for the San Fernando Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Creek Hydroelectric Project</span> Hydroelectric Power Scheme on upper San Joaquin River System, Sierra Nevada, Central California

The Big Creek Hydroelectric Project is an extensive hydroelectric power scheme on the upper San Joaquin River system, in the Sierra Nevada of central California. The project is owned and operated by Southern California Edison (SCE). The use and reuse of the waters of the San Joaquin River, its South Fork, and the namesake of the project, Big Creek – over a vertical drop of 6,200 ft (1,900 m) – have over the years inspired a nickname, "The Hardest Working Water in the World".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upper North Fork Feather River Project</span>

The Upper North Fork Feather River Project is a hydroelectric scheme in the Sierra Nevada of California, within Lassen and Plumas Counties. The project consists of three dams, five power plants, and multiple conduits and tunnels in the headwaters of the North Fork Feather River, a major tributary of the Feather—Sacramento River systems. The total installed capacity is 362.3 megawatts (MW), producing an annual average of 1,171.9 gigawatt hours (GWh). The project is also contracted for the delivery of irrigation water between March 31 and October 31 of each year. The project is owned and operated by Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

References

Notes

  1. U.S. Geological Survey (19 January 1981). "Feature Detail Report: Los Angeles Aqueduct – Inyo County" . Retrieved 2014-06-22.
  2. U.S. Geological Survey (19 January 1981). "Feature Detail Report: Los Angeles Aqueduct – Los Angeles County" . Retrieved 2014-06-22.
  3. U.S. Geological Survey (19 January 1981). "Feature Detail Report: Los Angeles Aqueduct – Kern County" . Retrieved 2014-06-22.
  4. 1 2 The Second Los Angeles Aqueduct. The Department of Water and Power, City of Los Angeles. 1971. p. 263.
  5. 1 2 "Los Angeles Aqueduct Facts". Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Archived from the original on 2013-01-21. Retrieved 2012-09-14.
  6. "The Story of the Los Angeles Aqueduct". Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Archived from the original on 2009-02-01. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
  7. "DWP – Name Change Chronology". Water and Power Associates.
  8. Smith, Genny; Putnam, Jeff; James, Greg; DeDecker, Mary; Heindel, Jo (1995). Deepest Valley: Guide to Owens Valley, its Roadsides and Mountain Trails. Genny Smith Books. ISBN   978-0931378140.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Basiago, Andrew D. (February 7, 1988), Water For Los Angeles – Sam Nelson Interview, The Regents of the University of California, 11, retrieved Oct 7, 2013
  10. 1 2 Weingarten, Marc (2019). Thirsty: William Mullholland, California Water, and the real Chinatown. Los Angeles: Vireo Books. ISBN   978-1942600022.
  11. 1 2 Fulton, William (2001-08-09). The Reluctant Metropolis: The Politics of Urban Growth in Los Angeles . JHU Press. p.  107. ISBN   978-0801865060 . Retrieved Oct 10, 2013. eleven cities joined metropolitan water district 1928.
  12. 1 2 "Political and Legal Chronology". Mono Basin Clearinghouse.
  13. Complete report on construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct. Los Angeles Department of Public Service. 1916. pp. 14–17, 271. OL   23386153M.
  14. Nathan Masters (4 April 2012). "Canoga Park at 100: A Brief History of the Birth of Owensmouth". KCET.
  15. "World Records". Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Archived from the original on 2014-05-12. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
  16. Annual Report of the Bureau of the Los Angeles Aqueduct to the Board of Public Works. Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. 1908. Retrieved 2014-06-08.
  17. "A Hundred or a Thousand Fold More Important". Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Archived from the original on 2009-02-23. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
  18. Heinly, Burt A. (July 1910). "Carrying Water Through A Desert: The Story of the Los Angeles Aqueduct". The National Geographic Magazine . XXI (7): 568–596. Retrieved 2009-07-10. Includes construction photos.
  19. Complete Report on the Construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct. Los Angeles Department of Public Service. 1916. pp.  75–76.
  20. Complete Report on the Construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct. Los Angeles Department of Public Service. 1916. pp.  271.
  21. The Second Los Angeles Aqueduct. The Department of Water and Power, City of Los Angeles. 1971. pp. xvii.
  22. "The Owens Valley Is the Only Source". Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Archived from the original on 2009-02-23. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
  23. 1 2 Piper, Karen (2006). Left in the Dust: How Race and Politics Created a Human and Environmental Tragedy in L.A. . New York: Palgrave MacMillan. ISBN   97-81403969316.
  24. "The Los Angeles Aqueduct and the Owens and Mono Lakes (MONO Case #379)". TED Case Studies. 7 (1). American University. January 1997. Archived from the original on 1997-04-03. Retrieved 2012-09-13.
  25. Kahrl, William. L. (1982). Water and Power . Los Angeles: University of California. p.  440. ISBN   0520050681.
  26. Davis, ML (1993). Rivers in the Desert. e-reads. ISBN   978-1585861378.
  27. Reheis, Marith (November 1997). "Dust deposition downwind of Owens (dry) Lake, 1991-1994: Preliminary findings". Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. 102 (D22): 25999–26008. Bibcode:1997JGR...10225999R. doi: 10.1029/97JD01967 .
  28. Liebcap, Gary D (2007). Owens Valley Revisited. Stanford Economics and Finance. p. 133. ISBN   978-0804753807.
  29. 1 2 3 4 5 Liebcap, Gary D (2007). Owens Valley Revisited. Stanford Economics and Finance. pp. 135–138. ISBN   978-0804753807.
  30. "Facts about the LA Aqueduct" (PDF). Mono Lake Committee.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  31. "Decision to Amend Water Right Licences". Mono Basin Clearinghouse.
  32. The Second Los Angeles Aqueduct. Summary: The Department of Water and Power. 1971. pp. xvii.
  33. 1 2 The Second Los Angeles Aqueduct. The Department of Water and Power, City of Los Angeles. 1971. p. 12.
  34. The Second Los Angeles Aqueduct. The Department of Water and Power, City of Los Angeles. 1971. pp. 83–95.Includes maps and pictures
  35. The Second Los Angeles Aqueduct. The Department of Water and Power, City of Los Angeles. 1971. pp. 257–260.
  36. "2005 Urban Water Management Report" (PDF). Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
  37. "2005 Urban Water Management Report" (PDF). Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. p. ES-8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
  38. "2010 Urban Water Management Report". Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. p. 103. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
  39. Annexation and Detachment Map (PDF) (Map). City of Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-03-01. Retrieved 2013-10-11.
  40. Creason, Glen. "CityDig: L.A.'s 20th Century Land Grab". Los Angeles Magazine. Retrieved Oct 10, 2013.
  41. Basiago, Andrew D. (February 7, 1988), Water For Los Angeles – Sam Nelson Interview, The Regents of the University of California, 8, retrieved October 7, 2013
  42. Joseph, Brian. "A short history of Metropolitan water". Orange County Register. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved Oct 10, 2013.
  43. Stansell, Ann (August 2014). "Memorialization and Memory of Southern California's St. Francis Dam Disaster of 1928". California State University, Northridge Master's Thesis.
  44. 1 2 Map showing territory annexed to the city of Los Angeles, California (Map). Los Angeles Engineering Department. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  45. Current map of territories annexed to the city of Los Angeles, California (PDF) (Map). Los Angeles Engineering Department. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 1, 2017. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  46. "Saugus High School News and Information – School News – Saugus High School". www.sauguscenturions.com. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
  47. "DWP Power Plant – Visiting (424) – Huell Howser Archives at Chapman University". 28 October 1996.
  48. "California Historical Landmarks By County — Los Angeles". State of California – Office of Historic Preservation. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
  49. "CHL No. 653 The Cascades – Los Angeles". California Historical Landmarks. Retrieved August 28, 2019.

Further reading